Redemption
by GracieSnow
Summary: It could've been love at first sight, that is, if his personality hadn't been the way it was. Kagome's a simple high school girl with an aim to succeed, and she doesn't want any distractions from this new student. But something strange is going on between them, and though she always was a sensible girl... The ambitious ones never did learn how to control their curiosity.
1. Love at First Sight

**Love at first sight**

It was love at first sight. It must be, with the way her heart beat out an unsteady rhythm and her palms grew increasingly moist with sweat. The feeling could be no other, with the way her brain seemed to light up, and all she could do was take in his cropped silver hair and tall, lean body. However, Kagome didn't believe in love at first sight, not in reality, that is.

Watching the exchange student introduce himself in the front of the room, as a blush grew across her cheeks, she concluded that it could be no other thing.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	2. Kendo

**Kendo  
**

The tall exchange student spoke in a steady, deep voice and once finished speaking, Kagome found herself wanting to hear more. Her mind furiously retained every word he spoke, each detail he gave her, to form a picture of his personality. He practiced kendo, archery and was fluent in Japanese and English—clearly a hard working student. _Similar to me_, she admitted with a gulp.

As he meandered over to his seat, which was conveniently located across the room, she watched him pause, lift his nose in the air, and turn. In a second, a winking golden eye met hers.

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**word count:** 100

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	3. Homely Girl

**Homely Girl  
**

If her heart hadn't already been skipping beats, it would've started then.

_What was that about?_ Kagome thought with a tinge of panic. In all of her schooling career, no boy (aside from Hojo, but he would never count) had ever singled her out. Maybe it was her good, old fashioned morals or her levelheadedness, but something always seemed to scare them off.

And now, out of thin air, the mysterious transfer student had a thing for a Kagome Higurashi, who for all appearances, looked like a boring, homely girl? She wasn't a class representative for nothing—something was suspicious.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	4. Fluke

**Fluke**

The first class passed at an alarming rate, finishing before Kagome had even taken half a page of notes. She was way too distracted to focus on calculus and whatnot, she had to pay close attention to this new guy in case he dropped any hints. And her efforts were rewarded with great fruition, the student glancing back her way twice, both times meeting her steady gaze. She knew for sure that it hadn't been just a fluke earlier because of the additional times.

And as her math teacher scolded her class against senior laziness, she sighed heavily, wondering why.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	5. Wink

**Wink  
**

By the time lunch rolled around, news of the attractive exchange student from America had spread like wildfire. Most were completely random—he was an undercover spy for the FBI, he was married to a student in her grade but wouldn't say who, or best of all… He had stripped down completely in the locker rooms before putting on his gym clothes so the other boys saw _him_, and he was _small_… Frankly, Kagome just enjoyed laughing about the rumors.

But one thing was worrying… everyone knew he had winked at someone, and now they were determined to know _who._

Snagging a chair at the end of her friend's table, Kagome sat down next to her best friends, Eri and Yuka. Each girl had their own distinctive personality, Yuka being smarter and quite the know it all, Eri being the gossip, but the thing that was common between them was their loyalty. And while Yuka wasn't as intuitive as Eri, she was fairly more observant, and with one look at their devious faces together, Kagome knew she may not be lacking in their loyalty, she was never going to escape their grip.

"Tell me, Kagome, who _did _he wink at?"

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**word count:** 200

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	6. Excuses

**Excuses**

Kagome took a large bite of her soggy cafeteria pizza and made a big show of chewing slowly.

"We know it was someone in the back of the room. We know it has to be someone in your corner, too, because he looked back there. And you're the only girl there besides Kanako, and I don't really think he was winking at her." Yuka's eyes were alight with curiosity and Kagome struggled to keep a mask of impasse on her face.

"Kanako's beautiful, and you can tell that much at a first glance. It'd only make sense if he were winking at her. And c'mon, did you ever stop to consider that he might like guys?"

"Oh, posh, stop it." Eri waved a dismissive hand. "You're offering me excuses, but I want details."

"It wasn't me." She shook her head.

"You're_ so_ lying, and when I find out your secret, you're_ so_ dead." Eri countered fiercely.

"And don't sell yourself short, Kagome! You are such a nice person, why wouldn't he wink at you?" Yuka's pained expression did enough to remind Kagome why she was friends with these miserable fools who held her heart dearly.

"I don't know," she murmured.

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**word count:** 200

standard disclaimers apply


	7. Dreams

**Dreams**

After the winking incident flickered out of their conversation, Eri began talking about the second biggest thing running around the rumor mill: nearly every girl in the school had been visited with a strange dream during the past week. Though Eri nor Yuka and Kagome could claim to have seen it, they did know it centered around a humongous dog and a raven haired girl. The dog was supposedly searching for _her,_ the only one that could tame him.

And upon waking, each time a girl who had been visited by the dream spoke about the dog, she started crying.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	8. Believe It?

**Believe it?  
**

"That's complete BS," Yuka rolled her eyes at Eri.

"You don't believe it?"

"No, I don't. Please tell me you think it's fake, Kagome. I need to know you're not as naïve as you were last year."

Kagome shrugged, "It's a silly story, and the only reason it's interesting is because so many girls are playing along. But I've got to admit, weirder things have happened here."

"You're not talking about," Eri glanced over her should quickly, "the ouija board incident, are you?"

Kagome nodded, and whispered, "I'm just saying, if the dream is real, it's probably the same spirit."

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	9. Superstitious

**Superstitious  
**

"Wait, what incident?!" Yuka leaned in closer to her friends, desperate.

"Don't tell me you didn't hear about it. _Don't tell me you were too focused on finals_…" Eri moaned.

"Hush! Just tell me already!"

"You don't believe in ghosts, so why do you want to know?"

Yuka stuck out her tongue as Eri began to speak. "Some kids were playing with those boards that call spirits back from their rest, clearly messing with good sense. A couple days later, they claimed to be followed by some dark figure when they walked home. Two were hospitalized because of hallucinations, actually."

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	10. Kagomeistic

**Kagomeistic  
**

"The others don't go here anymore," Kagome frowned. "They said something about being haunted, but I can't remember exactly what it was."

Yuka tried to disguise her raised eyebrows with a smirk. "And because of that, you believe in ghosts?"

"I'm just not ruling their possibility out anymore."

"That's so like you, Kagome. Always the optimist."

With a well-placed punch in her friend's arm, Kagome shot her a dark look. "Be quiet. Just because I'm not grumpy and sensitive at the same time doesn't mean I'm unrealistic. I'm Kagomeistic. I firmly believe in my own opinions."

"Give me a break_._"

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**word count:** 100

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	11. Repeat

**Repeat  
**

When the bell rang and everyone exited the cafeteria, Kagome meandered off to her next class, physics with Eri, and selected them two seats by the windows. She set her bag down on her chair and glanced at the tree outside. It had been her most cherished school day habit, to watch the tree which had begun the year with bright green leaves as they morphed into the vivid red and orange colors they were now.

And she thought to herself: If her life must be compared to something, she'd want it to be a tree. One that grows and bears fruit, its leaves flourish with intensity and it shines bright and great until it burns out. But then, the best thing about trees is their cycle never stops… because the very next year they would grow buds and then blossom, destined to repeat it's cycle over and over again.

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**word count:** 150

standard disclaimers apply

A/N: Thanks so much to my loyal reviewers! You guys are the best! And the rest of you, what's up? Do you like my story so far? I'd love to hear from you too. ~Gracie


	12. We Meet Again

**We Meet Again  
**

"Hey, Kagome!" Eri's hand appeared in front of Kagome's face, fingers snapping. "Earth to the daydreamer!"

"What?"

"Guess who's in our class?" Eri's muffled squeal deepened Kagome's frown.

"No thanks."

"You're no fun," Eri sat down in the desk next to Kagome and pursed her lips. "It's him, if you're wondering."

"I figured that out already, smarty," Kagome poked her friend and whipped out a pencil and paper. "Now hush, class is starting."

"Fine, but look where he's sitting," Eri made a subtle movement to their right, and Kagome hesitantly leaned forward, only to be met by sharp golden eyes a few desks away. She straightened abruptly and looked away, determined not to let her blush show this time.

Eri let out a strangled gasp and swiveled her head back and forth between them. "So it was you! Explain now!"

"I really don't know," Kagome's brows knit together, utterly confused.

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**word count:** 150

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	13. Names

**Names  
**

Eri paused, a protest ready on her lips, until she saw her best friend's distress. "So if you really don't know him, then why does he think he knows you?"

Kagome sighed, her forehead crinkling. "I don't… look, it really doesn't need to be this big of a deal. I have no idea why everyone cares so much about this—"

"Because he's so hot!"

She threw her friend a scowl, "Do you even know his name?"

For once, it was Eri's turn to look befuddled. "Oh, of course I do, I mean, it's… I give up, what is it?"

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**word count:** 100

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	14. Distractions

**Distractions  
**

"You know, I'm not terribly certain myself."

"You're in his other classes, you should know. He _winked_ at you for Kami's sake, and he's staring at you _right now_. You should know his name."

"You're the one who cares so much. You ask him."

"No way, did you see his _extraordinary_—"

"No I didn't and I hardly care. And he could be looking at you, for all we know."

"Girls!" Their teacher's shout called their attention back to the front of the room.

The friends swallowed simultaneously and Kagome snuck a quick peek at the exchange student.

"Pay attention!"

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	15. Sloth

**Sloth  
**

The school day passed with alarming sloth, and by the time the last bell had rung, Kagome was sick of this fancy new exchange student who had waltzed over to their high school and promptly planted himself right into her metaphorical lap. And if the wink wasn't bad enough, he'd been caught staring at her so many times that half the school assumed they'd fallen in love, and the other half thought she'd enticed him. She'd had some people outright bump into her, offer no apology, and sneer.

It was apparent enough that they didn't deem her acceptable for him.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	16. Kikyo

**Kikyo  
**

_I am so done with high school. _

Kagome lifted one leg over her bike and hopped on. _They couldn't pay me enough to come back here._

She adjusted her backpack and lifted one foot onto a pedal, only to hear the soft crunch of footsteps on the ground behind her. She waited a moment for Eri or Yuka to call out to her, but when they didn't, she took a quick glance over her shoulder.

He was standing with the sun behind his head, silver hair alight like a crown. Eyes that rivaled the sun's intensity captured her gaze.

"Kikyo."

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**word count:** 100

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	17. Kagome

**Kagome  
**

He didn't bother introducing himself, so she didn't bother with excuses.

"Sorry, I'm not the girl you're looking for."

Kagome swiveled back around and pushed off from the ground, trying desperately to ignore her pounding heart.

He grabbed her arm and pulled, keeping her bike in the same spot. "_Kikyo."_

His voice was a warning now, and the low, feral tone made her heart hammer away in her chest, marching to an anxious beat. She met his eyes and felt her skin crawl, his eyes just like a predator's.

_Am I the prey?_

"My name's Kagome," her voice shook nervously.

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**word count:** 100

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	18. Uncouth

**Uncouth  
**

His narrowed eyes made a slow blink and he straightened, his hand still gripping hers. "Kagome?" His voice was still deep, but it didn't put her on edge, almost seeming confused himself.

"Uhm," she cleared her throat, and began again more forcefully, "Yes. My name's Kagome, and you didn't mention yours."

She shook off his clasped hand and set her jaw.

After a moment of contemplation on his part, he nodded at her. "Sesshomaru."

When no apologies were made, she curled a lip at him. "Well, _Sesshomaru_, your manners seem pretty rough."

"And you, Kagome_-san_, seem fairly uncouth as well."

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	19. What do you want?

**What do you want?  
**

She crossed her arms and after a long moment of silence, she huffed, "So? What do you want?"

He studied her for a minute. "Does the name Kikyo mean anything to you?"

"Nope. Sorry, but I'm not her. Now please, leave me alone."

"Hnn." He rubbed his tense jaw and frowned at her. "_Nothing?"_

"What?"

He shook his head once more, and she suddenly felt like he was being too… casual. It was as if she was programed to think of just him like that, because under any other circumstances, she would've thought this Sesshomaru character was _way_ too formal.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply

Happy Halloween! Did anyone dress up? (^w^) There's my attempt at a pumpkin :D ~Gracie


	20. No Big Secret

**No Big Secret  
**

"What's your deal?"

He cocked an eyebrow, but then seemed to remember himself, and resumed his cool mask of an expression.

"With the winking. I mean, you set the school on fire, and it's brought me a lot of trouble. Why did you do it?"

"Why do your peers place such value on a mere gesture?"

She flipped a hand in the air, "I have no idea, but they think you're some sort of Adonis, which means boys like you don't talk to girls like me."

"Why not?"

There it was—his infuriating smirk. She couldn't figure him out—one moment he was cool and collected, the next, the modern era's biggest flirt.

Kagome made a quick motion towards herself and tersely replied, "It's no big secret I don't run with your crowd. And I don't want to. So please leave me alone."

She started peddling and didn't look back.

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**word count:** 150

standard disclaimers apply


	21. Not You Too

**Not You Too  
**

"Kagome?" Her mother called as she entered the house, dropping her back pack unceremoniously on the floor next to her shoes.

"Yeah?" She followed the scent of homemade lasagna into the kitchen and found her mother placing the phone back into its holder.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No?" Kagome looked at her mother oddly. "I'd hate to ask why you think that."

"Yuka just called to ask if you've been out of the house more often than usual these past few weeks. She's wondering if you're hiding something…" Mrs. Higurashi sent her daughter a skeptical look.

Kagome groaned, "Not you too! There is no one, I repeat no one I'm seeing! I don't even know the guy!"

Souta, Kagome's little brother, took that moment to dash into the kitchen yelling, "Kagome's got a boyfriend, Kagome's got a boyfriend!"

Slapping her hands to her face, she whined.

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**word count:** 150

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	22. Loathe

**Loathe  
**

Taking a quick reprieve from her life, Kagome secluded herself in her bed room. _Everyone asked me the same question so many times today… but I'm not even sure what I think of this guy. _If it wasn't odd enough that he'd thought she was some Kikyo girl, it was even more peculiar that he hadn't believed her when she'd said she didn't know said girl.

And then there were the dreams, and the renewed interest in the ouija board incident… She couldn't believe how odd her day had been.

Never mind that Kagome would absolutely _loathe _winking for forever.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	23. Decidedly Not in Love

**Decidedly Not in Love  
**

Kagome entered her classroom with the same disinterest as she had her whole life, and was relieved to see her classmates finally acting the same. With the hype over the new kid dying down, it seemed like they would simply move on once Sesshomaru found some friends and integrated himself into their school.

_It hardly matters so me, as long as he's out of my hair_, Kagome rolled her shoulders in preparation for her first class.

She had so many better things to worry about than this exchange student who she was decidedly not in love with what so ever.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	24. Lunch

**Lunch  
**

But something was still going on. Kagome noticed halfway through her morning classes with wide eyes that Sesshomaru was still sneaking covert glances at her from across the room. There were much more subtle than before, with barely a flicker of a look, but she knew. She knew what he was doing.

And when she stood in line to collect her lunch, there he was, right behind her. She could feel his heavy gaze on her back as she shifted from one foot to the other, hoping to escape to her table with her friends. And she could feel him waiting too, though for what, she wasn't sure.

Dashing off to her friends, she threw her cares to the wind and resolved to completely forget about her odd and fairly awkward morning. She started munching on her wrap as Eri took a moment's break from her lengthy speech about the reason why she could be a celebrity.

"Hey, Kags, you look pretty tired."

"I am. And you'll never guess what's going on."

"Oh?" Yuka raised an eyebrow and with a quick glance over Kagome's shoulder, pursed her lips.

"I can," Eri pointed to Sesshomaru, who was standing directly behind Kagome.

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**word count:** 200

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	25. Shock

**Shock**

Sesshomaru nodded once to Yuka and Eri and smoothly pulled on the chair next to Kagome, languidly seating himself without a moment's hesitation. Eri barely batted an eyelash before continuing her story, and Yuka tersely ripped her eyes away from the male sitting across from her before refocusing on Eri. Surprisingly, Kagome was the only one left to stare at him with shock as he began eating.

When it became clear that he wouldn't explain himself to anyone at the table, much less her, she coughed lightly.

He looked at her and took another bite.

"Sesshomaru? What are you doing?"

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply

Just a quick update: I'm going away for the weekend! I'm really excited, but sadly, there's no wifi where I'm staying (Crazy, right? Do those places even exist anymore?) so I won't be updating until Monday. But when I do update, you can expect a nice amount of chapters, so fear not! They'll just be a bit late. See you soon! ~Gracie


	26. Why Here?

**Why Here?  
**

He raised an eyebrow and reached for his water bottle. She watched him slowly unscrew the cap, pause, and say before taking a sip, "Eating lunch."

"Why here?" Kagome bit her lip, uneasy with how casual they were acting. _Shouldn't I—him too—but at the very least me—be acting more reserved around him?_ But she felt, oddly enough, like they were jumping back into old, familiar patterns. As if they'd known each other for a very long time.

But that was completely illogical, she reminded herself. It was bad enough when she'd first met him she'd thought it was love at first sight but this? She tried desperately not to notice his golden eyes, yet again, as she waited for his response.

His smirk looked more beast than human, and she felt her flickering pulse jump when he said, "I figured it'd be best to eat with you."

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**word count:** 150

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	27. Willing

**Willing  
**

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," she swallowed, eyes trained on the center of his forehead so she could look anywhere—anywhere—just not meet his gaze, "people might get the wrong idea."

"There you go again," his voice was deep and he leaned close to her, a narrow frown sported on his mouth, "worrying about your peers. Why do they matter so much to you, Kagome-chan?"

His words were close to a taunt, and she scowled at the tip of his ear. "Go make friends with someone who's willing. Aka, _not me_."

Sesshomaru snickered, and the sound was so absolutely wrong that she found herself holding her breath. "You're very odd, Kikyo. Not at all what I was expecting."

She whipped her face back to his. "I told you, I'm not this Kikyo girl you're looking for. And I can't believe you forgot that already. You don't strike me as someone who has a hard time remembering things."

He shook his head, the movement practiced and very nearly regretful. "What are you doing after classes end today?"

She was struck by the randomness of his statement. "Nothing?"

"Good," he studied her, "meet me behind the gym at three."

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**word count:** 200

standard disclaimers apply


	28. Running in Circles

**Running in Circles  
**

Behind the gym…. She was dumbfounded. Didn't he know that kids go there to confess their love to someone else?

Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the crazy one. It was _all him_. Sesshomaru and his crazy personality, that had her running circles around her own mind, trying to figure out why everything that _should've_ made him appear like an average, run of the mill high schooler, look _so incredibly wrong_. And why he kept on calling her Kikyo, even though he had called her Kagome a moment before.

And why he was so interested in her! And why he had winked at her in the first place?

_He might be thinking _he's _going to talk to _me_ about something behind the gym today, but it's the other way around._ I've _got questions for him, and he_ will_ answer them. _

Kagome looked at Eri and Yuka before sighing. "High school boys…"

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**word count:** 150

standard disclaimers apply

Hi guys! So sorry about the lacking updates-I've had lots of work to do. That, and, I don't know if you guys are already familiar with how lazy I can be, or forgetful ( I know I've got my faithful reviewers out there who have experienced this first hand. Love ya for sticking around!) but I'm so slow about posting. I'm trying to do a 6 day posting per week thing here, but haha, we will see how that turns out. Best wishes! :) Gracie


	29. Enticed

**Enticed  
**

However, when the allotted time rolled around and the school day was finally ending, Kagome found herself reluctantly driven towards the gym out of curiosity. She'd certainly hadn't planned on following his arrogant orders… but was far too puzzled and interested to stay away, against her better judgment.

So she rounded the corners and flew down the stair wells, past the gym doors to head around back—she paused. Slowly turning, she spied inside the gym at the boys dressed in traditional apparel fighting. It was Kendo practice, and there he was.

Kagome blinked, and remembered something deep within herself.

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**word count:** 100

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	30. Heart

**Heart  
**

It wasn't something that had happened, or rather, she wasn't entirely sure. It might've been a memory, or a dream. All she knew—all that was true to her was basking in the hot, burning sun, sitting in a grassy field of flowers. Watching him—a man, or maybe something else—darting, dashing, swooping, slaying… he was dancing with a sword, its blade flashing in the sunlight. Or maybe not just his blade, but also his long, silver hair, shining like starlight.

She plucked a flower to her left and delicately sniffed it, watching the man who held her heart.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	31. Blink

**Blink  
**

Kagome desperately held on to the field, the vision of a divine conquer practicing at midday, the flowers around her hakama bending in the humid breeze, until she was caught in limbo, her sight overlapping. Where she had been sitting she was now standing frozen, and the summer field shifted to a gymnasium filled with sweaty boys. One figure remained true though, with silver hair glinting off of fluorescent lights and a wooden sword swishing through the air.

She blinked, and all the facets of the meadow shattered apart, leaving no proof that she had ever seen them at all.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	32. Linger

**Linger  
**

Shocked, Kagome stood at the doorway of the gym watching the kendo practice progress, unable to rip herself away from the view. She couldn't stop the way her eyes traveled with Sesshomaru, and how they supplied images of some foreign male who bore a slight resemblance to him… she couldn't hide from the scent of freshly picked flowers. And no matter how she wanted to, she couldn't force herself away from the gym, to end this irrational, imaginary train of thought from finishing.

After all, she was not only confused, but also entranced. Just what exactly had she been seeing?

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


	33. Released

**Released  
**

The second Sesshomaru finished, placing his shinai on a table on the far side of the gym, Kagome felt the chord tying her to her location, rendering her immobile for the past hour, snap. With that, she was released from whatever force had been holding her captive, unable to look away from Sesshomaru. She drew in a sharp breath which sounded suspiciously like a gasp, and turned on her heel.

Her continuous reminders to herself that she had been doing nothing wrong, it hadn't even been her intention or decision to eavesdrop on him did nothing to slow her run.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply

A shinai is the practice sword in kendo, according to the internet.


	34. Mulled Cider

**Mulled Cider  
**

When Kagome arrived home, she sat herself down at the kitchen table with a cup of mulled cider and homework. She was getting down to business.

Crazy vision or not—it was over with. Her life would float back to normal, she concluded, if she could just do a couple more things. Like avoid this new kid like the plague. Never make eye contact, to save herself from another reputation-ruining wink.

And above all else, pretend she hadn't noticed the way he'd glanced at her from the corner of his eye while practicing kendo, and smirked as she scrambled away.

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**word count:** 100

standard disclaimers apply


End file.
